InfoHive – Eminent Domain

What’s happening? Parking garages and lots have been used for restaurant and entertainment spaces during the pandemic. Now there is a potential to use pods, inexpensive living units that plug into parking structures as an effective way of dealing with housing shortages.

Why is this important? Building affordable housing is expensive. The City of Los Angles determined that it was more cost effective to use eminent domain to acquire an entire apartment complex rather than build new affordable housing.

How will this be important? The new economy will see a lot of urban property be underutilized whether it is office space or parking garages.

Route Fifty | Retrofitting Parking Garages Could Help With Affordable Housing Shortage

What is happening?  Coachella Valley community will cover five acres and include 15 eco-friendly homes made from 3D-printed panels by Mighty Buildings. $595,000 with swimming pool and deck.  $850,000 with an added guest house. additional elements include high-tech Darwin wellness systems.

Why is this important? 3D printing had been the purview of solving housing shortages or addressing homelessness, but Coachella project is targeting specific buyers, some of whom are paying in bitcoin.

How will this be important? Consider our previous post about Icon 3D printing based in Austin, TX. There’s competition and variety in 3D projects, and that is exciting.

Los Angeles Times via Governing | California City Begins Building 3D-Printed Homes

What’s happening? Governments, state and local, are trying to figure out how to handle monuments that are about the Confederacy.

Why is this important? Because History is complex. Think of George Washington, who was critical to founding the US, but who also had sale

How will this be important? Policy makers and decision makers want to do the right thing, but it’s complicated.

Governing | History Matters: Debates About Monuments Reflect Current Divisions

What’s happening? MI is considering  House Bills 5752 and 5753 to regulate septic tanks.

How is this important? This would be the first statewide regulation of septic tanks and required inspections for Michigan. Michigan’s Washtenaw County has a time of sale inspection requirement that revealed that 18% of septic systems were failing or near failing.

Why is this important? In a COVID world, some local governments are using waste water to test for COVID hot spots. Waste is a big deal for public health reasons.

Michigan Radio | Rights vs. Regulations: Property rights big barrier to septic system codes

What’s happening? Utah legislators are considering SB 211 (2021 | UT) that will bar cities from prohibiting owner-occupied, short-term rentals. The author is motivated in part by HOA bans on short term rentals.

Why is this important? Legislators are being asked who they trust more- local officials? state officials? or D.C.?

How will this be important? Statewide preemption for short term rentals has gone every which way, including a repeal of preemption moving along in AZ. Look to see what works where and adapt it to your state needs.

KSL | State senators argue over which ‘tyrant’ should rule on allowing short-term rentals

What’s happening? HB 63 (2021 | OH) would allow elected city officials and municipal legislative boards the ability to veto appropriations for use of a recreational trail, that uses eminent domain to obtain land, when the proposal was made by a public agency not elected by the public.

Why is this important? Accountability in eminent domain use has been at the heart of most eminent domain fights. Is the entity exercising eminent domain subject to being voted out of office. If not, it is a hard sell.

How will this be important? The amount of land is not increasing, making property rights increasingly more valuable.

Salem News | Green trustees continue battle against eminent domain

What’s happening? Los Angeles County is trying to figure out how to handle the purposeful ousting of a successful entrepreneurial Black couple whose land was taken away by the City of Manhattan Beach via eminent domain in the 1920s under the ruse of saying the city needed a park. 

Why is this important? These acts epitomize the new world, the new economy where doing the right thing matters.

How will this be important? More and more local governments and states are trying to rectify past wrongs. So to are stadiums that displaced primarily black residents.

The Patch | LA County Could Return Manhattan Beach Land to Bruce Descendants

What’s happening? The Missouri House again passed a bill to prevent the use of private land for the Grain Belt Express power line without property owners’ permission.

Why is this important? The supporting argument that gains traction here would apply to rail, pipelines and roads. The idea is that there should be no eminent domain if there is no direct benefit to the people whose land is being taken. In Missouri, it is a larger impact in that the power line that wants to use eminent domain will not provide power to Missouri at all.

How will this be important? The constant beat of no eminent domain for private gain is popular, especially among populist lean ing factions on both sides of the political spectrum.

KY3 | Missouri House opposes eminent domain for wind-energy line

What’s happening? Arizona is considering SB 1379 (2021 | AZ) that walks back statewide preemption of local short term rental rules. The change of heart moves from the idea that short term rentals are a part of our property rights vs. more control over short term rentals because property rights include the use and enjoyment of property by the neighbors.

Why is this important? Legislation to establish statewide rules that preempt local short term rental rules continues to make the rounds through state legislatures.

How will this be important? This fractures the vote on short term rental legislation.

Daily Independent | Mason: SB1379 needs fixing to address short-term rental issues

What’s happening? Montana is considering SB 268 (2021 | MT) that would allow residents of a mobile home park to petition the local government to condemn the property, when the quality of life decreases at the property. The property owners will then take over the property.

Why is this important? Moving ownership from one entity to another is a new trend in eminent domain. Whether it is a local government taking over a water utility to return to municipal water service or when the enjoyment of property decreases.

How will this be important? 2020 showed us local governments that sought to use eminent domain to create affordable housing, to house the homeless, and to correct for historical inequities. Governments are trying to make sure it gets better, this concept of using eminent domain to make it better isn’t fading.

Helena Independent Record | Montana legislation aims to change practices around mobile home parks